Pence: Space Force to be deployed by 2020

Earlier this year, Donald Trump announced that he wanted to create a new branch of the armed forces dedicated to defending the U.S. in space. This space force would be charged with countering efforts by Russia and China to build a war-fighting capability in Earth orbit.

Yesterday, Vice President Pence gave some details about the new space command.

Pence said on Thursday that it was an idea “whose time had come” and made clear that the White House wants to get on with the project as soon as possible. He hailed a new report by the Pentagon on the force as a starting point.

“President Trump and I are grateful to Secretary Mattis for this department’s diligence in preparing this report, and our administration will soon take action to implement these recommendations, with the objective of establishing the United States Department of the Space Force by 2020,” he said.

He said that a new position would be created for an assistant secretary of defense for space.

“Creating a new branch of the military is not a simple process. It will require collaboration, diligence, and above all leadership. […]